YapYap Messenger

YapYap is a decentralized, peer-to-peer messenger node and CLI library built with Node.js + TypeScript. It prioritizes reliable end-to-end encrypted delivery, offline/store-and-forward support, deduplication, and ACK-driven reliability inside a small-footprint CLI package (no UI) so other applications can embed YapYap as a dependency or run it as an executable.

Key features

• Central YapYapNode/MessageRouter stack for message enqueue → transmit → receive → acknowledge → retry flows (see docs/MESSAGE_FLOW.md).
• Built on libp2p (TCP/WebSocket yamux transport, bootstrap + DHT discovery, autonat/relay fallbacks) with Noise XX/IK and Ed25519 for E2EE.
• SQLite-backed persistence using better-sqlite3 (message_queue, processed_messages, replica tables) plus LRU dedup caches and replica-aware retries.
• CLI (yapyap binary) that ships init, start, send, status, peers, and HTTP API endpoints for automated control.
• Message history logging that exposes inbound/outbound entries via yapyap history or GET /api/messages/history, with filters for peer, direction, limit, and offset.

Getting started

Quick install (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://viliamvolosv.github.io/yapyap/install.sh | bash

Or use the installer with specific options:

# Install via npm (default)
curl -fsSL https://viliamvolosv.github.io/yapyap/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-onboard

# Install from GitHub source
curl -fsSL https://viliamvolosv.github.io/yapyap/install.sh | bash -s -- --method github --no-onboard

Manual install

1. Install Node.js 22.12+ and clone the repository: https://github.com/viliamvolosv/yapyap
2. Run npm install to populate dependencies.
3. Build the project with npm run build:all (creates dist/index.js and dist/cli.js).
4. Start the node locally via npm run dev or run the CLI: node dist/cli.js start

Requirements: Node.js ≥22.12.0

Message history

yapyap history reads the message_history table, returning inbound and outbound entries together. It accepts --direction inbound|outbound|all, --peer-id (peer filter), --limit (1-500) and --offset for pagination. The Node API exposes the same filters at GET /api/messages/history, and the response decrypts payloads when the key material is available so dashboards can safely display the latest activity and retry metadata.

Development workflows

• Tests: npm test (uses Node.js native test runner with tsx). Test files use .test.ts suffix.
• Lint/format/typecheck: npm run lint, npm run format, npm run check, npm run typecheck (Biome + TypeScript).
• Integration suites: bash tests/integration/docker/run-basic-suite.sh (default scenarios) or bash tests/integration/docker/run.sh for custom scenarios using Docker Compose.
• Build: npm run build:all - Fast builds with esbuild (~10ms)

Documentation & roadmap

• Quick install: Use the installer script: https://viliamvolosv.github.io/yapyap/install.sh
• AGENT skill: Get started quickly with curl -s https://viliamvolosv.github.io/yapyap/skill.md | bash
• GitHub: https://github.com/viliamvolosv/yapyap (issues and contributions)

Contributing

• Keep TypeScript strict (noImplicitAny, no any, narrow unknown before use). Prefer interfaces for public APIs and import type when only types are needed.
• Use Node.js native APIs (node:* imports). The project uses better-sqlite3 for SQLite, ws for WebSocket, and esbuild for bundling.
• Test files use Node's built-in test runner (node:test) with assert for assertions.
• Investigate lint warnings about unused parameters—either refactor or remove them rather than ignoring.

Publishing & release notes

• Build artifacts land in dist/ for the yapyap CLI and library exports (package.json points to dist/index.js/cli.js).
• Dependencies managed via package-lock.json and npm.
• Docker images use node:22-alpine base (see tests/integration/docker/Dockerfile.*).
• The repository is MIT licensed (see LICENSE).
• See CHANGELOG.md for detailed release notes.

For deeper dives, consult the individual docs referenced above before contributing significant changes.